


beneath the almond tree

by Ede



Category: Thor (2011)
Genre: Childhood, Female Friendship (sort of kind of in a way look gender is tricky when Loki is involved), Gen, Gender Issues, LGBTQ Character, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-02
Updated: 2011-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-22 03:18:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ede/pseuds/Ede
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he is forty years old, Loki Odinsson turns into a girl, and refuses to turn himself back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	beneath the almond tree

When Loki Odinsson is fourteen years old – still a baby, really – he surprises his nanny and brother by turning into a raven.

He stays a raven for three weeks. The first week, he rides everywhere on Frigga's left shoulder; the second week is spent on Thor's right shoulder. The third week, Loki flies, farther away and higher into the sky than anyone feels is safe. By this point, Thor is beginning to wonder if he'll _ever_ have a brother again, or just a particularly annoying bird that he'll never be allowed to shoo away. But one minute, the raven is hopping awkwardly across the garden, and the next, Loki is walking, shaky yet determined.

Thor is relieved, is so grateful, is so glad to have his brother back, that he does not complain about Loki for the next six days.

A month later, Loki turns into a horse while still in his brother's arms. Thor does not forgive him for _weeks_.

And so it goes for decades. Loki is quick and sharp and clever, and he shifts bodies like Freyja goes through dresses. A badger, a snake, a songbird, a tiger, a wolf, a bear, a mouse, on and on, until Frigga is forced to stop giving her youngest disappointed looks, and Odin is forced to concede that Loki will never listen to his lectures on the matter.

Sif – who joined the princelings as a playmate when she and Thor were both only twenty five – and Thor have long since grown accustomed to Loki's ever-shifting ways. Indeed, they are often be found playing with Loki, regardless of whatever form he had chosen that day. Thor's delighted laughter could often be heard, generally accompanied by war cries from Sif and shrieks from Loki. Guards in Asgard learn fairly quickly to ignore these sounds. The last poor idiot who interrupted the childrens' games had come back shaking, arms and ankles already starting to darken with bruises.

Loki grows up with a disgustingly loyal brother, reasonably affectionate parents, a multitude of bodies to slip into, and the most terrifying girl in Asgard at his side.

When he is forty years old, Loki Odinsson turns into a girl, and refuses to turn back.

At first, no one notices. At that age, there is not yet a great deal of difference between little girls and little boys; Loki had always been fine-boned and fair-faced, and even if there were some grand clue to find, the court only has eyes for Thor by now. A sly, skinny child could go unnoticed for days, if they so chose.

Loki so chooses.

It's nine days before someone realizes that they have not seen the youngest prince for some time now. Six hours before the guards give up searching the palace. A day before Odin pulls Thor aside from his own coming of age feast to tell him of his brother's disappearance, of Loki's empty rooms and too-neat bed. And Thor, who loves his brother best of all, immediately drops everything - including his goblet, which clatters to the table and splashes all down Lady Amora's front - and dashes off to look for Loki.

Unfortunately, Thor is too swept up in the search party, too busy worrying to really think, let alone be truly useful, and so he does not even consider looking in one of the more neglected gardens, where Loki sometimes goes to practice his spells, or test a new body with wings.

Sif, on the other hand, is not the type of girl who gets swept up in silliness.

Besides, she knows Loki. She counts both Odinssons as her friends, yes, and always, always, Thor will be her Prince, but Loki is the brother closest to her heart. He is younger than her, but clever and wicked and utterly unpredictable. Loki Odinsson is many things, but he is never boring. And besides, he's the one who braids Sif's hair before she goes adventuring.

Sif finds Loki within minutes of being told that he has gone missing. Sure enough, he's tucked away amidst the feral weeds of one of the more forgotten gardens; curled up safe at the base of an almond tree.

The moment she sees him, she knows.

“You've never turned into some _one_ else before,” she says, thoughtful and calm. There will be more than enough hysterics from the rest of the court when Loki finally reveals himself; Sif is more that happy to leave that bit of panicking to others. It's tempting to be upset, because Loki looks a lot like Sif herself in this body. Not exactly like her, of course – Loki is dark haired where Sif is fair, and poison-eyed as ever. Still, Sif thinks that she will receive this imitation as a compliment.

Loki sniffs delicately, and smooths down the front of his skirt. It's green, with gold embroidery around the hem, because no matter what body Loki wears, he will always be ridiculously showy. “I still haven't. It's my body, just . . . with different parts, I think.”

Sif raises an eyebrow, and asks, “And just how long do you plan on keeping these new parts?”

Loki hums thoughtfully, reaching out to twist a strand of Sif's golden hair around his tiny fingers. Sif, who is long since used to such treatment, suffers in silence, and does not break Loki's hand, the way she would with any other soul who tried such a thing.

Instead of answering, Loki cocks his head and says, “How do you feel about dark hair, Sif? I think it would look rather lovely on you.”

**Author's Note:**

> In this story, Loki has been written as female-bodied, but he remains male-gendered.
> 
> It is also worth noting that almond flowers represent a promise.


End file.
